Mata Nui
Mata Nui is the Great Spirit and savior of Bara Magna. He is one of the main protagonists of the second half of the 2009 installment of the Bara Magna Chronicles. Early Life Mata Nui was once the Great Spirit, and the Matoran universe existed within him. He started to lose focus of his job and eventually, Makuta Teridax took control of his body. His soul was forced into the Kanohi Ignika, and launched into space. Months later, it landed on Bara Magna. Bara Magna After arriving on the planet, he formed a new body for himself out of sand. After getting used to his body, he befriended an insect-a Scarabax beetle he named Click. With Click able to become a shield thanks to the Kanohi Ignika, Mata Nui made his way through the desert, learning to control a sword on his way. He encountered the banished Glatorian, Malum, and his Vorox on the way. Mata Nui battled them, and quickly defeated them while using his new powers. He moved on, towards Vulcanus, giving himself the title of "Toa". After talking his way through the gate, he entered the village. He walked into the arena, and when Ackar saw him, he assumed that Mata Nui was his new opponent to be trained, which was wrong. They dueled, and Ackar was amazed by Mata Nui's powers. He took Mata Nui to the desert for proper training, but when a Sand Bat attacked and rendered Ackar unconscious, things got bad. Mata Nui learned to control the Ignika for a moment, and took care of the beast. He started to learn from the mask and from Ackar. The mask showed him how to use life, while Ackar taught him to fight. He began to tell some of his story to Ackar, while Ackar told him a bit about himself. After they returned to Vulcanus, Raanu had summons. He told Ackar that there was a tag team match against Tarix and Vastus approaching. Mata Nui took up the position of Ackar's partner, and the four soon fought in the arena later that day. Mata Nui held his own for some time, but was eventually defeated by Vastus. He did well enough, however, to earn Vastus's attention. This angered Gresh, who lashed out at Mata Nui, challenging him. Mata Nui accepted and the two had a duel. Using his sand body and his summoning of weapons, Mata Nui eventually brought Gresh down. When Gresh touched the Ignika, however, things almost got very dangerous. Mata Nui used his own will to subdue the Ignika for the moment, and he used its power to clear Gresh's mind. This backfired, however, and instead of helping his mind, he gave Gresh the ability to use the Heaven's Disaster. Mata Nui later received summons from Vastus, just like those received by Gresh, Kiina and Zendra. The team set out to the desert to deal with the Bone Hunter threat. As they went through the desert, they encountered Telluris and his Skopio machine. The team fought the war machine, but they were unable to defeat it. It took Vastus's Heaven's Disaster to bring it down and force Telluris to flee. Ackar came, escorting Gresh back to Tesara for an important matter. Mata Nui continued on with the others to the Bone Hunters camp. He fought his way through the ranks of Hunters, and soon met Cruor, the leader. While he attempted to kill Cruor, Fero tried to stop him. Thanks to the Ignika, Mata Nui slew Fero, but allowed Cruor to escape with his life. An explosion separated Vastus from the others, and while Mata Nui lead them, Telluris appeared again. Mata Nui managed to use the Ignika's power to bring the Skopio down, rusting it and aging Telluris before burying him and the machine in rubble. On the night before the Grand Tournament, he joined Ackar, Tarix, Kiina, Gresh, Metus, Berix and Raanu on the way to the tournament. As they camped for the night, Mata Nui told them his story. He also heard the stories of the other Glatorian around him. When morning came, they were ambushed by Bone Hunters. The team fought their way as far as they could, but soon heard about Berix as a traitor. Mata Nui tracked him down, but they found Berix dead. Raanu attempted to murder Mata Nui, but Ackar stopped him. He fled, but Mata Nui eventually caught him and wiped him out of existence with the Ignika. They continued on and arrived for the tournament soon after. Mata Nui watched the battles, but eventually stepped out. He saw the Skrall army approaching, and left the tournament to stop it. He killed a few Skrall with his blade and powers, but continued on, dodging them as best as he could. He eventually saw the Sisters of the Skrall and spoke with Fracta when they stopped. They struck a deal-the Sisters join him if he gives information on Angonce and the Great Beings once he gained his body back. Fracta and her Sisters attacked and then fled as Mata Nui used the diversion to go after Tuma. When he arrived, he met with Branar and Tuma. Branar attacked him, but he wiped Branar out of existence with his Ignika. He fought Tuma briefly, but didn't kill him. Instead he forced the army to withdraw and was going to fight Tuma in three days. The first day was spent in Vulcanus and Iconox. He fought Baterra in Iconox with some of his new friends, and learned of the assassination machines the Great Beings created. The second day was spent fighting every Glatorian in Vulcanus, and defeating every one of them. The final day-the morning-was spent in Tesara, watching Vastus fight Gresh. He learned from the fight, and went on to fight Tuma. As he arrived, he was sent to the arena. He fought Tuma and used the Ignika to give power to give him the powers of death, giving him the powers of a god. Mata Nui struck him down by impaling him with his sword, immune to the powers he granted to Tuma. As the Skrall turned on him, he used the Ignika to threaten all of them and force them to bow before him. He enjoyed why they bowed to him, and brought them under his flag. Holy Spherus Magna Empire After six months of leading the Skrall, and allying them with Bara Magna, Mata Nui led a team of Skrall and Tarduk to the Great Being's Lab. There they encountered the Elemental Lords who engaged them. The Lord of Fire attacked Mata Nui, but he managed to escape the battle. He and his Special Corp. bodyguard made their way to the Holy Spherus Magna Empire in pursuit of the Lords and the items they took. He quickly found an opponent and engaged him in battle. He and his opponent engaged in a serious battle to which neither was able to actually do much damage to the other. Soon a disturbance occured in the city behind them, and a Skrall was cut down, but not one of Mata Nui's. The head soon rolled, and Mata Nui continued to question the man, who revealed himself as using the same style, and his name as Exuro. As their battle continued, Mata Nui's guard stepped in and attacked Exuro. He warned his guard to be careful as the Elemental Lord of Fire appeared. Mata Nui attacked him witht he powers of life, but he was stopped by a tablet wielded by the opponent, taken from the Lab. The energy repelled and struck Mata Nui, doing unknown damage. Eventually he was forced to pull out with his bodyguard to survive. When he returned to Roxtus, he declared war on the Empire, telling everyone of the oncoming battles. He also informed Ackar-one of his generals-of Exuro's survival, shocking the warrior. He tried his powers for the first time since being attacked by the Lord of Fire, and was shocked when his aging powers didn't work. He and Ackar decided that if they destroyed the Lord of Fire's tablet, he may regain all of his powers-while he still retained some. Later, after Ackar had dueled Exuro, Ackar arrived with some wounded Skrall in Roxtus. Ackar explained about the duel, and about Invado's involvement and what the function of his weapon was. Mata Nui listened to what Ackar had to say, and went off to find a commander suitable for the suicide/intelligence gathering mission he was sending at the Empire. Later, Mata Nui had every general join him on a quest to the north, to seek out supplies after hearing about the Moment's Reprieve. Instead of sending weaker scouts out, who would be killed with greater ease by any Empire warriors still around after Invado's attack, the generals left on the quest, hoping to be able to fend off any dangers. As night started to grow near, they searched for the safehouse which had housed the Moment's Reprieve. They figured that if it was good enough in the Core War, it would be good enough to spend the night inside of. After some time, Mata Nui asked about the Despiders that Halix had reported seeing. The Skrall amongst them told Mata Nui that they had seen some on their move to Roxtus, but didn't know very much about them. Mata Nui asked if the Skrall knew anything else, but they said they were in it only for survival, not to learn about monsters of the land. They told the group what the spiders could do, about their acid and strength. Tarix and Ackar both responded that they had never heard of nor seen the creatures during the Core War, and expressed hope not to run into any now. Mata Nui asked Ackar about his wounds from his duel with Exuro. Ackar responded softly that they were healing, and started to think about his former apprentice and friend. He started talking about him, how he wished he could change Exuro and bring him back. Tarix put his opinion in alongside Mata Nui's, that Exuro had chosen his path already, and he was the one who chose to oppose Ackar. It was Exuro's fault. Vires broke the conversation by announcing they had arrived. As they descended into the pit, Mata Nui tested his powers, changing an aged sword back to it's "prime", even though his powers were now limited. He and Click took the first watch for the night as the pit was sealed. In the morning, the group set out, about to go either farther north, or return to Roxtus and Bara Magna. The Iron Tribe attacked, led by Sahmad, who had joined the Empire now. The Iron Tribe warriors were working together, which was remarked as something no one had ever seen. Mata Nui ordered a strategy of countering their attacks to repel them. That failed when Sahmad threw a sack of Thornax fruits at the group, and blew them all apart with another fruit, sending them into the underground tunnel systems. After the explosion, the generals, Mata Nui and his bodyguard found themselves in an underground chamber. It was brought to attention that their best bet was to place ambushes to buy them some time, which Mata Nui said he would do with the power of the Ignika. As Mata Nui began to deploy ambushes into the walls with his powers of life, the generals spoke among themselves, wondering if and when backup would arrive due to their absences, and how many more Iron Tribe warriors would pursue them. Validus and the bodyguard began to argue over who would stand guard over the passage, to which Mata Nui put to an end. They wondered how long they would hold out, due to the rations each side had. Sahmad ordered the attacks to continue, and his men pursued underground, only to fall prey to Mata Nui's traps. Soon, Gresh and Kiina met up with the Iron Tribe attackers. They raced into battle, attacking the Iron Tribe. Sahmad noticed this, and focused his attention on Gresh, for their battle in Tesara, and his subsequent departure from Bara Magna at the hands of Vastus. The battles raged on around Gresh and Sahmad, as Kiina attacked the entire Iron Tribe force. Kiina soon met up with Mata Nui and his men, and helped them to escape, before going back for Gresh, who had abandoned his weapons, angering Sahmad, and attacked him with his brutal style of fighting. Upon the mention of Saga from Gresh, Sahmad attacked again. He ran Gresh through the gut with his sword, and was scared off when Mata Nui approached, making him flee. Gresh was taken back by the bodyguard and Kiina for proper healing, while Mata Nui and his men walked. At one point, Mata Nui allowed Tarix to lead an army to attack the Empire, consisting of three hundred Skrall, fifty Agori volunteers, and a handful of Glatorian soldiers to go. When Mata Nui heard Validus’s term of the “Roof of the World”, he said he liked the name, and approved of it. When Mata Nui declared that they were going to attack the Empire personally. After a lengthy travel, he and his men arrived and invaded the fortress before them. He began to speak to Invado, expressing his wishes that Invado was the leader of the Empire, not only the Order, so that the threat could be ended. He and Invado spoke, and Mata Nui claimed that he thought of his people as "real", somewhat discounting the Bara Magna people. He stood back, watching the battles unfold. When Intorqueo became involved and attacked him, after a brief battle, Mata Nui killed the Order member and escaped with the others. After the battle, Mata Nui and his men fled. The Lord of Sand created a sandstorm, drawing Mata Nui, Gresh and Ackar away, and bringing them to robed warriors who awaited them. These figures turned out to be the Sisters of the Skrall, led by Shakra and Fracta. Mata Nui began to speak to Shakra, as she told him her plans, he told her that he could use his connection with the Great Beings to attempt to find them after he got his body back, if only they would ally with him. They refused, and Shakra told him that she had been using the Empire, and she had no wishes to leave the Empire at this point, not when she could still use them. It turned out that she had been playing them. A few Sisters in her party had not been, and turned on her, only to be killed for their betrayal. Mata Nui was unable to convince Shakra to join him, unfortunately. She left Fracta to deal with them, and departed. Fracta had gone against her former word to Mata Nui, and prepared to attack. Mata Nui questioned Fracta, demanding to know why she would attack them. She told them their deal was over, and sent another Sister after Gresh while she attacked Mata Nui. Ackar took his place and fought Fracta, and soon, Gresh joined his attack. The two were overpowered, forcing Mata Nui to fight alone. He eventually brought Fracta down and, holding her at the point of his sword, demanded her allegiance. As the group pressed on, wary of their new comrade, they eventually ran into Telluris, who wasn't dead. He used his Skopio war machine to attack the group, attempting to murder them all. In the end, thanks to all of their combined efforts, they were able to bring it down, and Telluris with it. Ackar put his sword to Telluris's throat, and when he wouldn't submit, and Ackar couldn't kill him, Fracta pushed Ackar's arm to sever the man's throat. The group pressed on after this. As they continued, Gresh informed the others that he was going back to deal with Saga, unable to return to Bara Magna until it was done. As the group exited the enemy territory, they came upon others. Fearing for an attack, the three warriors readied themselves, only to find Tarix. He was excited to see them, and had brought an army with him. He questioned if Fracta was a prisoner, and where Gresh was. After being briefed on the situation, and Fracta gaining a bit of distaste for him after his assumption, the unit moved forward, back to the Empire to attack it and hopefully end the war. After some time, Invado prepped the entire Empire for war, realizing that Mata Nui was making his final attack. He took two Sisters of the Skrall with him and sent the entire army to the field to fight outside of the Empire walls. Upon arriving in the field himself, leading the forces, he confronted Mata Nui. The two spoke about the battle to come, and that both had the determination to win the fight. The two leaders began to fight each other, with Invado gaining an upper hand thanks to his firearm. He utilized his machine gun to blast Mata Nui's body apart, but was shocked to find that Mata Nui was unharmed, that he could just draw more sand into his body to restore himself. Mata Nui grew tired of the battle and wanted to end the war quickly, so he unleashed a devastating attack into Invado with his Ignika. When Invado rose, he used his firearm to blast Mata Nui away. Mata Nui healed himself with the sands and raced forward, using his shield to smash Invado back. He took up his sword, slashing in an X across Invado, and then ran him through, shattering his sword to impale him with the crystals, killing the last Order member. Fracta came to him, reporting that the Sisters were dead. He told her that Invado was also dead. He helped to save some other warriors, and fought with Fracta as they spoke about the Great Beings, after he thanked the Great Beings for her powers. Soon he saw Gresh and was surprised he was alive. Gresh reported that he didn't kill Saga, and then questioned who was winning. Mata Nui couldn't give an answer, and pressed for details. He said that he saw Saga's corpse, and instead fought and killed Lokaju, to Fracta's amazement. He raced off to join the battle when Halix appeared, holding a bomb capable of killing every combatant. He started to talk to Mata Nui, trying to explain his reasons for doing such a thing as this genocide. Mata Nui couldn't condone it, and tried to stop him. Before Halix could use it, a Skrall cut his arm off, and "Urik" ran him through from behind to kill him. The battle began to draw to an end shortly after this. When he met with Ackar, Tarix and Fracta, he learned that the Lords were absent, yet swore to find them and defeat them to reclaim his powers. Fracta also agreed that she would stay on their side. The enemy forces were killed, captured or fled during these moments, ending the threat of the Empire. Abilities and Traits Mata Nui deeply believed in his duty, but was emotionally disconnected with his universe. He became a "Toa" after arriving on Bara Magna, following the Toa Code. He believes firmly in unity, duty and destiny. He is connected to his friends and will do anything for them. He has learned to value life more than before, as shown when he spared Click, and knows to use power, as when he took the Skrall under his flag. Weapons Mata Nui uses his Scarabax Beetle-Click-as a shield due to the powers of the Ignika. He also uses the Ignika as a weapon, and has a sword made out of a crystal like substance. He can flick his wrist to summon the blade at any time.